I blog this every year and now know this hymn by heart. And every year this hymn gets stronger in my heart as a lifesong, a truth undeniable that humbles me to reflect on His goodness. By His grace, “since He lives, I also will live.” (john14.19). The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. Since I started for the Kingdom, Since my life He controls, Since I gave my heart to Jesus, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows. Ev’ry need He is supplying, Plenteous grace He bestows; Ev’ry day my way gets brighter, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows. “The Longer I Serve Him” Thank you Lord for the love you have started in me, and have shown me through the years. Ever since I surrendered my heart to you, You […]

hi team. we’re about to leave in a couple of hours, so I just wanted to encourage you with an incredible verse that is dear to my heart while I was in college: Zeph3:17 “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” It resonates now as a promise that God’s love over me is active and not just a passive thought or emotion. He will fight for me. And as every woman will attest, that act of devotion only comes from those that love you the most. Not only will he stand by you, and fight for you, He delights in you, in every crevice of what makes you you. And His love will cover even the parts that hurt Him the most. He covers that with audible adoration. What I love most about this verse is that it is one of the very few Biblical verses that connotes the imagery of God in all of His glory, singing. Singing over us. His song is what captures me. I hope the weeks we’re not […]

Today, the coast of Japan was hit by tsunami waves, brought about by an earthquake measuring 8.9 magnitude. In our part of the world, the Friday measured an ordinary medium from 0-10, still too early to gauge and rate what the day will be like. But, along with the morning breakfast came the devastating news. And along with the devastating news, always likely, came the Facebook statuses. We’ve become a generation of commentators, summing up catastrophic world events in 240 characters or less. As I carefully composed mine, several thoughts hit me, all probably very true, and some assumptions, but I had to filter my thoughts before I could bare ideas that would eventually permeate through people’s computers, thoughts that too will reach the same commentators. Of course, almost everyone requested for prayers for those affected, while some expressed grief and concern. Some offered outlets for help, links for donations. Not one smirked out of satisfaction, because who indeed could "like" the deaths of so many, the displacement of families/orphans who were relocated? Moments like this can unite humanity in the worldview that life has extreme value. Admittedly, I had passing thoughts that agreed with the statuses warning people that […]

Today’s life lesson with emma is: "People who don’t clean don’t know where things are. People who clean are those who know where things are." This applies to adults as well, not just in the literal sense of cleanliness within the house, but within the primary home- one’s body. It says in Romans 12 that our bodies and minds are living sacrifices, not intended for our own selfish uses, but the holiness it imparts is one pleasing to God, one given to glorify the Maker. This is further supported in the first book of Corinthians, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (6:19-20). Look, I’m not talking about drugs here, or specifically drinking alcohol, cheating on your taxes, perversion, or being sexually immoral, debating with passerbys on the legality or illegality of substances as portals to sin, although those stated aren’t necessarily excluded. I’m not here to micro-manage your life and choices and have them justified while being on the fence whether we should limit grace or […]

?"…and yes, tithing is part of our worship. He’s given us that 10% to acknowledge that we have a responsibility in that matter, 10% to live out faith, 10% to live out trust, 10% to live out love. We constantly ask for blessings, yet withhold giving what he’s first given us." Old Testament times required Israelites to give 10% of their earnings (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5), even more because of multiple offerings. In the New Testament, Paul states that believers should set aside a portion of their income in order to support the church (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Tithing was meant to be an act of worship, and like worship, meant to be a JOY and a BLESSING. Perze and I have been discussing this over the years, ever since we got married, ever since we had less than $500 in our bank account. We made a promise that no matter what, we had to make tithing a priority every time a paycheck went through. We wanted our giving to reflect, not just obeying a command to give 10%, but that in our own life together, it is an act of faith that we CAN give at least that […]

I love a good concert as much as the next person, but for some reason, I’m so turned off by the hype. I feel like sometimes, we treat these concerts like a huge lollipop, that the concert just becomes a sugary rush, but no substance, no nourishment. Being in the concert, we’re so on fire…but a flame that dies out the next day. Promise me it’s not about the hype. It says in Ephesians 3: 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. The words "rooted" and "established" connotes a sturdy foundation, a working of some sort rather than a flippancy of emotion. I believe that sometimes, these concerts are events we can use to put in our FB statuses rather than be […]

After some discussion, for Em’s 5th birthday, Perze and I bought her a crown pendant. I explained to her that no matter what or how she feels, she can hold that pendent on her necklace and know that she is the child of the King, that she will always be loved and forgiven. Today, my five year old, Emma did a little naughty act of biting her crown pendant, thus deforming an innocent prong on her beloved Tiffany’s charm. Having caught her in the act, I calmly took it from her and told her she lost her privilege of wearing it. Then you could see in her face, the swelling of emotion floodgates trying to hold in the tears, until they spewed out, down to her chin, as she mumbled sincere apologies. I explained that this wasn’t an isolated instance, but that it was to be added to the perpetual acts when she had not taken care of it. That led to a very difficult task of closing the watery floodgates of her tears. Determined to be immovable with my decision, I walked with her and Zienne as we window shopped. Emma remained very unusually quiet, seemingly surrendered to my […]

TWELVESIXTEEN NEWS

New Year 2018

What tremendous blessings and milestones in the Ababa family! We praise God for His grace in provision and favor. May our family continue to be a vessel for His glory.

We bought a new house! We praise God for giving us hope and peace as we had to simultaneously sell our previous home. It was a nail biting experience, but God’s provision and timing were perfect. Perze’s enjoying the gadgets and toys that come with owning a single family home like going green with solar panels + rechargeable electric equipment.

Elle is in her 1st year of school! She knows all her classmates’ names, is now reading, + 2 out of 5 days falls asleep on the bus ride home. She has recently been chosen to participate for a peer modeling group. One of her favorite hobbies is reading, + one of her favorite series is the "Little People, Big Dreams".

Emma is taking her 1st year of French, joined the chess club, is taking performance art, and is part of her school choir, 7/8th grade orchestra, + chamber ensemble. She is incredibly outgoing when it comes to auditioning, joining different musical ensembles, and has such a strong interest in performing. She helps her dad sing during his praise sets.

Changing schools for Zienne has been an positive experience, as she has found her social niche + is one of the top readers and math students of her class. Zi's hobbies include anything creative, making crafts, arts.